Generally, a large capacity battery is mounted in an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. The electric vehicle or the hybrid vehicle is driven by electric energy stored in the battery.
The battery is charged and discharged according to acceleration or deceleration of vehicle speed, and due to this the status of charging and discharging of the battery must be continuously monitored by an electronic control unit (ECU, hereinafter referred to “ECU”) of the vehicle. The ECU is a determining factor of the performance and quality of a vehicle.
A battery cell module 100 used in the electric vehicle or the hybrid vehicle as described above, as illustrated in Prior Art FIG. 7, includes respective cell covers 110 into which a plurality of battery cells 112 are inserted to be protected from external shock and vibration, a main frame 120 having guide channels 122 into which the cell covers 110 are inserted to be installed, and a top cover 130 to secure the cell covers 110 to the main frame 120.
Moreover, the plurality of battery cells 112 are electrically connected to each other in such a way that conductive connecting plates 112a, which are formed at both ends thereof, are welded to other connecting plates 112a of adjacent battery cells 112, and are configured for mounting in the main frame 120.
In the conventional battery cell module 100 shown in Prior Art FIG. 7, in order to check the charging and discharging status, the connecting plates 112a are first connected to respective lead wires that are connected to the ECU, thereby connecting the battery cell module 100 and the ECU. Since the connection between the connecting plates 112a and the ECU is carried out by connecting a plurality of lead wires one by one, the connection is troublesome, it takes time to manufacture, and the overall structure of the battery cell module becomes very complicated.
Moreover, due to the complicated structure, it causes interference with other equipment around the battery cell module and the operational environment is remarkably deteriorated.